Looking ahead at 2022 with Christina Henck - Henck Design

Carson is joined again by Christina Henck from Henck Design to discuss goals, strategies and designs for 2022 and beyond. This was such a fun conversation and we hope you enjoy!

Carson
Hey everyone and welcome back. I'm pumped to be joined today by Christina Henck. We have chatted before Christina and we've also been working together on a couple of different 3D tour projects that well, next time we chat will be fun to kind of walk through and actually talk about some of your designs that we can look at while we're chatting. But today we wanted to just chat about basically our, you know, year coming up in 2022. We're already almost at the end of Q1, so we should kind of have our feet underneath us for what this year's going to look like for sure.

Carson
But anyways, thanks again for for hopping on.

Christina
Yeah, thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here on a Wednesday morning.

Carson
Yeah, definitely. We're actually here in Texas. I don't know if you heard about a couple of days ago, we had some crazy weather, some tornado warnings and stuff. So like literally 48 hours ago, my wife and I were hunkering down in tornado weather. And now, like you would never guess that that could happen. You're so blessed to be here on a Wednesday morning, I guess.

Christina
Yeah, I'm happy to be here. Every day is a blessing. What can I say?

Carson
All right. So really quickly, for maybe someone that didn't see our first conversation, do you want to give a brief background just kind of of Henck design and who you are?

Christina
Sure. So this year will be Henck Design's ten year anniversary. I'm Christina Henck, I'm the owner, founder creator. I'm currently operating as the CEO and creative director for the company. And then I've got a staff of designers and an operations department, and I'm kind of building out some project management roles for my company.

We are located in Philadelphia. We'll be moving to it's like still Philadelphia proper, but it's a little bit removed from like the center city downtown area and a place called Manayunk and we're are about to open a big, beautiful 3200 square foot space with a showroom.

And that's like the really exciting thing that we have coming up. So we're in like a little bit of transition, but we are rock and roll and we've doubled our business every year for the last three years. So the company's trajectory is really, really good. And I think some interior designers, you know, kind of get in and maintain a smaller business model. And I really, you know, I'm interested to scale and keep growing and take the Company National. We've got a couple of our first national clients recently. So yeah, from, you know, I feel more like a business owner than a designer now more than ever. I always, of course, design is my foundation, but I think these days I'm a business owner first and I'm proud to say that.

Carson
And how do you feel about that trend? I'm sure you got into design because of a love for design. How do you feel about that transition? You know, to actually most of your time is running a business now. Do you are you kind of sad to let go more of that design time or are you more excited about? You know.

Christina
It's bittersweet for sure. It's hard to let go of the design, but I think it's healthy to let go and trust and build a team. And we talked about leadership a little bit on our last call. And I think creatives are great for a leadership roles because leadership is naturally right brained trait or, you know, it's definitely a learned space, right? You have to read a lot of books and you know, they don't teach you leadership, as it were, often in most curriculum. So that's been really interesting for me to focus on learning how to be a leader and reading a lot of not just entrepreneurial books or business books, but leadership books specifically.

So yeah, I mean, letting go of the design is hard. I'm still very involved with the design. I'm just at like a different level where, you know, we've created like a really strong process at step by step so that the designers have a great they have a 100% clarity on like step by step what needs to happen and like what steps I need to be involved with so that we've scheduled these check ins and it's almost like a checklist, you know, because our projects are six months to a year long, especially now that supply chain has slowed down, you know, so there's a little bit of just more time that goes by for the process. Before COVID, we were finishing projects and more like a 4 to 6 month long timeline. But yeah, you know, I'm still very much a designer in my bones, but I also think it's important for my personal and professional growth to, you know, really embody being a CEO of being a great leader in order for the company. Need to grow.

Carson
Yeah, yeah, definitely. And before that, you know, before we have down here were chatting a little bit about being a leader. And I think. I think there's like some natural there is a little bit of a naturalness to leadership. I think that's why, you know, people were attracted to come work for you or why you were able to even get clients. You know, like people tend to kind of naturally elected to people that have natural leadership skills, but then it's like once you actually are in that position, it kind of unless you've been there and had like kind of everyone's eyes looking at you, like waiting for directions on what to do and everything's resting on your shoulders. It's hard to like empathize or realize how just how daunting and kind of how difficult it actually is to to lead a group of people and to accomplish things as as a business.

Christina
Yeah. I mean, jokingly, like they say, more money, more problems. But like the bigger the team, like the most difficult thing in business is personnel and talent management and offering constructive criticism and feedback when it's not always well-received. I mean, there's so many challenges as it relates to just managing staff alone. And also like my goal as a leader is to create other leaders. So, you know, really coaching people, even coaching people on how to be coached is a thing, you know?

And being a young leader, I think, sets me apart. I think sometimes people underestimate me because they think I'm young. I'm 35 now, so it's less of an issue now. But there was a time when I was 25 hiring people in their thirties, you know, and that was really difficult. And I maintained that I was qualified then, you know, to be the owner of my company. And you can see that we have not failed. So but yeah, it's challenging to be a leader at any level, whether you're managing 2 to 3 people, ten people, 25 people, small, medium or large sized businesses. You know.

Carson
Definitely while you talked about a big, exciting project that you're working on, moving to a new showroom, a new studio, that's super cool. What are some other projects in 2022 for the rest of the year that you guys are working on and excited about?

Christina
My husband said he always kind of doesn't roll his eyes because he's the same way and he's involved, but he's like, Christina loves the good projects. Like, we love a good project. Carson There's always, you know, it's like as if my, you know, business wasn't based around project oversight, you know, and project management.

But yeah, there's always like, I just finished a kitchen renovation in my house. We're doing a new build for the office. It's build a suit. So all the selections and floorplans and everything have to be worked out. So yeah, I mean, it's like it's never ending and I wouldn't have it any other way. I love transformation and I love growth and I love, like you said, being a leader and sort of having somewhere to go and like being clear on what that looks like and you know, solving the problem of executing it.

Carson
Yeah, this so this showroom in this new move that you guys are working on is having a showroom. Actually, I haven't been to your current offices in Philadelphia, but is kind of having a bigger showroom and more square footage. Is this going to be new for you guys? And do you currently sell things through a showroom right now? Or I guess talk to me more about this showroom.

Christina
Yeah. Yeah, we do. So if you Google Henck Design, it's H E N C K design, just type that into Google. And if you click on where it says our photos on our Google listing and you scroll down, I think it's like seventh or eighth right now on our on Google listing. But you can see we actually have a Google 360 tour so you can actually tour the showroom. I did that when we first moved in two years ago and yeah, I feel like Openhaus should totally come out and do the new showroom so we can do a tour.

We have a thousand square foot space right now, so it's about the third of the size of what we'll have in should be July one. The showroom allows us to have the best accounts with our furniture, rug and lighting vendors because we're able to have vignettes and we're able to pass on that savings to the client.

So it's a win win win, right? It's a win for the vendor. It's a win for Henck Design and it's a win for Henck Design interior design clients. Also, you know, it gives us an ability to have our retail store. I opened our current showroom like. April 2020. Sign the lease. January 2020. So, you know, with COVID, it was like big plans. And then it was. It was like. What did I call it? It was a virtual grand opening.

It was like I had a grand opening with me and like, it's like live on Instagram and like, no one. And I sense how. But I did, like, make all these gift boxes and send them to my favorite people and colleagues and friends around Philadelphia with like a little champagne bottle with a Henck Design logo on it. And everybody sent me a picture Cheers thing. So, you know, we made a video out of that and we put that in our newsletter, my grand opening. And you know, we do have the e-commerce website. So, you know, we were able to still have it, but I mean, it was definitely a challenge. So this time we're going to have a real grand opening party.

Carson
Hopefully, I'm telling you now that way.

Christina
Fingers crossed. And yeah, so we'll have a beautiful showroom with some big, beautiful branding. The the office space is going to allow for, for closed offices and excuse me, a conference room with a wide open designer area with a big material library and then plenty of storage for inventory.

Christina
So yeah, we're super excited. There's going to be a lot to see, of course. You know, it'll be designed to the max and I hope to be there for ten years.

Carson
Very cool. That's awesome. I can't wait to see some of the vignettes you guys set up in there. And. And anyways, I love a good showroom. What?

Christina
I love that good 360 tour of a showroom. You know, it's so awesome to be able to especially like, you know, during a pandemic or really for any reason, it's a great opportunity to be able to send somebody a link and say, Hey, you want to see what we do? Even when candidates apply for job to job postings and you know, they asked me what our space looks like and I can just send them that link, you know? So I think what you do you guys do is really great too, and it's very informational, you know?

Carson
Yeah, well, I think it'll be a good timing too, because we're working hard on some e-commerce integrations. So with the and ecommerce store and also working on doing some live video component. So like you can start up a one on one video call inside of your virtual tour or you can host like livestream events with multiple people. So anyways, there will be some awesome stuff that we can do together when, when this new showroom is unveiled. So that'll be fun.

Christina
So awesome. I love that you've got great ideas.

Carson
So when it comes to 2022, what would you say? You know, by the end of this year, where where do you Henck Design to be like where you're at now versus December 31st, 2022? What are what are your goals and visions for the rest of the year?

Christina
Yeah, it's all about the team, you know, it's like companies are just like for me, company culture is so important. You know, we've got three KPIs for that that are companywide. Of course, each individual has their own KPIs based on their department and their roles and responsibilities.

But for the company, you know, it's revenue, profit, margin and company culture. Company culture, I think in the earlier years can be really hard to establish. You know, to be honest, like my first eight years with the company, you know, I had four people, including myself on staff or less, you know. So now having six, seven, eight, ten people on staff is quite a challenge. Not not because I don't know. I guess just because, like we were saying before, like being a leader is hard. There's, you know, just personalities and You know, I think for me, creating a beautiful space to like set up. Like I always say, it's all about the set up. So, you know, the more I can set up the process in the business, which is really what I've been focused on for the last two years, like I really spent like the first six or eight years, like developing my skills and being the best senior level designer that I can be. And now that I'm there, like I said at the beginning of the call, you know, I'm really focused on being a leader, being a CEO, being the creative director, but kind of working on the business rather than in the business.

And I think, you know, by the end of the year, we'll be in a really great place where the designers who are junior right now will have a lot more experience. They'll be growing in their careers. You know, I really want to see everyone kind of rise through the ranks.

And I think rising tides lift all boats. Right. And, you know, whenever the company does well, the staff does well. Whenever the staff does well, the company, you know, and it's it goes hand in hand. So for me, it's all about the team. It's all about the people. And it's all about like establishing a fun, healthy workplace where people also have, like a strong work ethic, you know?

Carson
Yeah, definitely. And I think like when you start a business, you obviously have your your grand vision of what it's going to look like. And you have like these are core principles as a business that like when I'm starting this, I want to stick to.

I think like. In those early years, especially as much as you want to, like really enforce that culture and stick to those principles. And you do, but. I think people underestimate from like the business owner perspective or the CEO's perspective how like so much of your attention is actually just on like how do we survive and actually create a business that like doesn't fail, you know, because so a huge percentage of new businesses fail. And so I think company culture and all that is so, so important. But also I think like in the early days of a business, especially as you start to kind of grow and find your product market fit, if you will, so much of your attention just has to be on like our company culture is, we're like building a business that will survive and even be a business. Does that make sense?

Christina
Absolutely. I mean, look, when people come on board to work at small companies, they have to come in knowing that they have to learn and help build it. It's not all already worked out. You know, I think just after ten years, I finally feel like I've got it, like 95% worked out. I'm just focused on the talent. I'm focused on the product. I'm focused on the client, the business development. But like our market has worked out, our department manuals are worked out, our processes and procedures are worked out. Our employee handbook.

I mean, that stuff took me years. Granted, I didn't come from a business background, you know, so somebody with an MBA may work that up first. You know, I did the design work and built the brand and did the marketing and did like the sexy designer creative stuff first. You know, that's what the foundation and the core of the company was built on. So now it's now, you know, just in the last few years, it's like, okay, I got to get really serious about operations, you know?

And I think that's normal for designers. And I think that's a challenge for us because in design school they don't tell you how to write a business plan. You know, they because it's sort of assumed that you'll work for a firm and that never really was a fit for me, you know? So but I never thought I never really understood that I had an entrepreneurial spirit. And then I wasn't willing to settle until I wasn't willing to settle. And then I picked myself up by my bootstraps and I figured it all out. But, you know, I didn't figure it out in like the normal, traditional order that somebody with an MBA would.

Carson
Yeah, totally. Yeah. And I've just been thinking about this stuff so much recently, but we're on the same page. I just think.

Christina
Yeah, well, you're a leader in your space, aren't you? You know.

Carson
Yeah. I mean, when you're getting started, you know, you just have to do those first several years. It's like that was on board. Like, really, the culture is we're building something that we want to survive so that we actually have jobs in this business.
And then we all have an opportunity to kind of shape that culture as we go. But we'll still stick to those, like, guiding principles, like, you know.

Christina
Absolutely. And, you know, like in this age where working from home. Is know, becoming fundamental to people's process and their day to day sort of hybrid scheduled lives. You know, figuring that out in conjunction with, you know, working with people in an office setting, I think it's really an interesting time. And, you know, technology never ceases to amaze me. And it's it frees us up, but it also challenges us and in new ways. You know, we're constantly sort of pivoting and working around it and integrating new tools. And, you know, I mean, I think you could definitely shed a lot of light on that.

So, yeah, owning a business is multifaceted. It's challenging in many different ways, and you have to be up for the challenge and you have to get up every day and just go today's new day and I'm going to kick ass and take naps.

Carson
Totally. And I think next time I'd love to talk more about that because I think you're going to really, as you guys try to expand nationally, I know you said you have some projects going nationally already. And as you expand that, I think just all these things are going to be even more important. We can dove into more. I'd love to hear kind of your insight into how you've managed that growth.

Christina
It's all about self-education and professional development and personal development. You know, like I've read so many books. Carson Just having my mind boil and like reading like good to great, you know, reading seven habits of highly effective people, reading complex sales management tools, books on tools. And, you know, it's like I don't, you know, I have a sales background, but I don't have sales background. So understanding like the traditional values around like the core fundamentals of like these. You know, areas of expertize like sales, management, business, you know, all of that stuff like figuring that out just.

As an interior designer has been really exciting, I think, for me. And. Yeah. I think I'm always like, if you're a business owner or you want to be a leader, you have to be willing to work on yourself because like it's important to like manage talent on your team to make sure that like they can bring in strengths that might, you know, balance weaknesses that you have, but at the same time, like, you've got to stay ahead of everyone.

Carson
Yeah.

Christina
For the challenge. You have to always be pushing to be your best self. You know, you can't slack because you know the company won't do well. It's just like, I hate to say it like that. That's just like a simple, you know, that is just the truth.

Carson
Agree? Yeah, I agree completely.

Christina
That's nice. A year's worth of vacation, right?

Carson
Yeah, exactly.

Christina
It's like, yeah, it's got to get done.

Carson
Someone. I read it the other day. They're like, I quit my. 9 to 5. I quit my job, so I stopped working 40 hours a week so I could start working 24, seven or something. And, you know.

Christina
The grass is not always greener.

Carson
Definitely. Well, one more question. I know we're short on time here. One more question I wanted to ask. This was, outside of business and design, you know, everything we've been talking about, what are some of your other passions or hobbies like how do you escape from the stress of design?

Christina
Well, my husband builds and rides motorcycles, so sometimes I go on a ride with him. We go to something in Philadelphia called Tool Tuesday, where all the biker guys get together and we hang out and drink beers in the afternoon and I'll show you a trophy that I won that I actually took home.

Christina
So I used to shoot for in an eight ball league.

Carson
Really?

Christina
Yes. I used to shoot competitive like billiards pool. And I'll show you my trophy. I just brought it from, like, three days ago. It's massive. I'm going to show you a. Can you see this?

Carson
Oh, yeah.

Christina
Looks like it's still sitting right here. Is that all?

Carson
Yes.

Christina
This time on the motorcycle last.

Carson
That looks like you should be like the world's champion, Billy. With that trouble.

Christina
We're not that good. We. We almost went to Las Vegas for the Nationals. So this is like what we got for that one step before going to Nationals. So I can only imagine. I think that there's, like, a $10,000, like a $5,000 prize. Like a $10,000 prize. I mean, it's like to be the best in the country, right? So we were like. 10th best in the country. It's huge. And I couldn't believe it even let me take it home.

Carson
So awesome. Yeah. I think anytime I've played billiards, I've had to like Google, what the rules were. I like, totally forget every time. So I am very impressed. Number ten, one of the top ten billiards people in the country, I think.

Christina
Put me on that. I don't even really know what a ranking was, but we were up there. I will say that this is 20, 2017. So this is like five years ago, right?

Carson
That's awesome. Do you still play like you keep up the skills?

Christina
Yeah, I don't shoot on an AP league anymore, but I shoot for fun pretty frequently.

Carson
Huh? That's awesome. Wow. Definitely added a element to your personality that I didn't really know and love it.

Christina
I'm a shark pool table, that's for sure.

Carson
That's awesome. Well, Christina, thanks again for chatting, and I'm sure we're going to do it again soon. And, yeah, just appreciate the time.

Christina
Excellent. I can't wait. Thanks, Carson.

To see more podcast episodes, click here!